Smile!
I really would like to get to know you better, so I guess the best way to do that is to start from my side of the table.
Here are a few things about me that you may not have thought to ask. I hope that you find them fun, interesting and I also hope that it will inspire you to share something fun and interesting about yourself at the end of it.
Alright, let's do this…
1. Soccer is my favorite team sport but not for the reason you may think
I started soccer quite a bit later than most kids I played with. I was always the worst player on the team, until about high school. But after that, I turned out to be pretty decent at it.
What most people don't know, is that I didn't want to be like Ronaldo or Pelé. I originally joined soccer because there were cute girls, no other reason. But it turned out to be a sport that I still play to this day.
2. I drink good whiskey, beer and red wine
If you want to get the conversation off on the right foot, offer me any of the above.
If you don't like me, buy me a mixed drink or white wine.
Don't worry, I can take a hint.
3. I am a gadget freak, but I will never give up my notebook
There is something magic about having a notebook with you. Without electricity, you are free to record ideas, fleeting thoughts, take notes and draw pictures.
I use a large, plain Moleskine hardcover journal, Pilot Juice up 04 pen and an elastic band that goes around the notebook and holds up to 5 pens, called the Bandolier (found it on Etsy).
It might sound weird, but I'm picky when it comes to notebooks and pens. It took me awhile to come up with a combination that I was happy with.
4: Until about the age of 25, I was super introverted
I had friends and dated and everything, but it took me a long time to warm up to people and for the life of me, I could not initiate a conversation with people I didn't know. I would purposely avoid people at work so I wouldn't have to make small talk.
One thing that helped me a lot was the book Trading, Sex and Dying. I don't recommend it because it teaches a great trading method, but because it was the first book that explained what was going on in my own head and helped me embrace it.
I am the Counterphobic Reflective personality type…if you were wondering.
5: I love great food
When I have more free time, I will be a badass chef. I appreciate the imagination, heart and soul that goes into excellent cooking.
6: I wholeheartedly believe that you can be doing exactly what you love in this world
With all the opportunities available to you, there is no reason why you should not be doing what you love to do. It may not come right away and it does take a lot of hard work, but it is out there.
Go get it.
7: I hate Vegas
If I'm with the right people, then anywhere is a great place to be. But Vegas is just so fake and I don't gamble, so I'm not a fan.
8: Until I can afford to fly via private jet, I prefer isle seats
Since I have long legs, sitting in the isle allows me to stretch out and go to the bathroom as I please. I just have to watch out for the carts.
9: I am a keen observer of wrists
This is weird, but stick with me. These are just clues that have been known to give me some quick and dirty insights about people I have just met. They are by no means hard and fast rules, nor judgements.
- If a person wears a watch or bracelet with a metal band, they tend to be more concerned with quality and take a longer-term view of things.
- People with solid gold (colored) watches tend to think very highly of themselves.
- If someone has a digital/plastic watch, they are usually very practical and tend to be conservative in their thinking.
- If their watch is more than 5 minutes fast, they are usually late to appointments.
- If they don't wear anything on their wrists, then they usually have more interesting thing going on in their lives than buying watches.
- People who only wear simple, non-metal bracelets also tend to be more interesting than most.
10: My biggest pet peeve is driving a car that has dirty windows
I'm not talking about dirt on the outside of the windows. I'm talking about that film that builds up on the inside.
You know, the one that you can only see when there is sun shining directly in your face. The one that blocks the view of oncoming cars. That doesn't just irritate me because it is dangerous, but it just shows a general lack of maintaining the little things.
11: I took an Argentine Tango class
Beginning, middle and end of my dancing career.
12: When I was a kid, I wanted to be an Astronaut
My hero growing up was Ellison Onizuka and I used to draw space shuttles all the time. I was heartbroken when the Challenger blew up.
My parents got so sick of seeing space shuttles, that they sent me to Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. That was also the first time I saw snow and went through a tornado watch…what a trip!
13: This has been the most terrifying and liberating experience of my life…so far
When I was much younger, I went out surfing on a day that was well beyond my skill level. Until then, I had only been out on days when the waves were about 12 feet high, at most.
But there I was, out on a day that was seeing 16 and even up to 20 foot faces. And this was on the North Shore of Oahu, not a wave tank in Arizona. Once I was done freaking out, a deep sense of calm came over me.
I knew that whatever happened, happened…it was mostly out of my hands. I don't want to push it that far again, but it was a very spiritual experience. It toned down some things in my life that I thought were important, but really aren't.
14: I got possessed by a ghost and my girlfriend had to save me from cracking my head open
No, I cannot prove that it was a ghost…and yes, I could be full of shit…but here are the facts.
I went on a ghost tour a couple years back and we stopped at an office building that was said to be haunted by the ghost of the young son of a Hawaiian King. The young boy was supposedly notorious for stealing candy from the bowls in the offices and as the story goes, the wrappers would be found on top of his picture, hanging in the hallway.
Before we got there, I tried to spit out my gum, but it got stuck to my fingers. The whole time we were at that site, I was rubbing my fingers together, trying to get the gum off. Then I slowly started to feel a numbness creep up my body, until I actually fainted. That was really weird because I'm not prone to fainting. I have only fainted once before and that was because I was still under the influence of an anesthetic, walking out of a dentist's office.
My 110 pound girlfriend at the time, had to throw her entire body into my back to prevent me from hitting the concrete head first. I'm really grateful she was there. It was actually a pretty boring tour and my buddy thought I fell asleep standing up.
15: I'm a very sporadic reader
I'll finish 5 books at once, then not read anything for 3 months. You can see my recommended books here.
My favorite book of all time is Atlas Shrugged…of course.
16: I am the least Japanese, Japanese person you will ever meet
My ethnicity is full Japanese, but I'm worthless at ordering not-so-obscure sushi, Bon Dancing and doing the “Banzai Toast” at weddings. I was actually corrected after doing a toast (facepalm).
I am proud of my heritage, but it is very foreign culture to me.
17: I believe in authentic living
I strive to be as true to myself and other people as possible. I will always be a work in progress, but I'm pretty happy with where I'm at right now.
Growing up, I used to have a hard time expressing my real opinion, I was flaky and I used to lie a lot. When I think back on it, I don't understand why I did those things. Nowadays you will get what is on my mind, I honor my commitments and I continually work on creating the life I have always imagined.
I'm not perfect, but that really isn't the goal…is it?
18: I live for the Sly Smile
You know…that smile you only get when you see, hear about or experience something that is insanely cool? It could be a clever song lyric, a groundbreaking idea or a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
You won't find it that often, but I believe that if you are not seeking out the Sly Smile on a daily basis, you might as well be dead.
Now it's your turn…
What are three things that most people probably don't know about you? Feel free to leave a comment below.
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